Brut Champagne: what it is, how it is made and how to drink it
Champagne Brut (Brut is a dry sparkling wine that contains a small amount of sugar. Its special feature is a pleasant berry sourness. But it is not overpowered by sweetness, so the drink has bright fruity citrus flavors and a long apple aftertaste.
Brut specialty
There are several types of dry sparkling wine called Brut, depending on the amount of sugar in it:
Classic brut - 0,6-1,5%
Extra brut - 0,3-06%
Brut nature - no more than 0.3% alcohol. This champagne is at a special level among gourmets, because it fully reveals the true taste of sparkling wine.
The best grape varieties for dry champagne are Aligote, Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot, Riesling and Traminer.
How Brut champagne is made
More than three hundred years ago, the monk Pierrot Perignon invented a way to make white wine from red grapes. Over time, it has been improved and has become the main one in the production of sparkling wine.
Brut is made from the following grape varieties: white Chardonnay, and red Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. To make the drink acidic, the berries are picked unripe. To obtain white wine, the juice is squeezed out so that it does not interact with the cake and the skin of the berries, because they have the ability to color the wine and give it astringency.
Then the resulting juice is poured into fermentation barrels. After a while, different wines are mixed and sugar and yeast are added to improve the taste. After this procedure, the product is fermented again. This process is called "champagnization of wine".
After that, the drink is filled into bottles and left in a horizontal position for further fermentation. This is how the wine needs to ferment for one year and up. During fermentation, yeast eats sugar and releases alcohol and carbon dioxide. Since it cannot escape from the closed container, the gas simply dissolves in the wine.
During fermentation, the bottles are placed upside down with a gradual increase in the angle of inclination. This is done for the normal accumulation of yeast sediment, which will later be removed from the tank.
How to drink Brut champagne
Before serving, the drink should be cooled to a temperature of at least 8°C. It is drunk from special long glasses with a narrow neck called flute, which allows you to feel both the taste and flavor of the drink, as well as enjoy the play of bubbles. Drink the drink in small sips.
Sparkling wine is an excellent aperitif before a meal - it awakens appetite and desire to start eating. It goes well with various cheeses and seafood. In addition, Brut is good to serve in the company of light desserts, fresh fruit, fruit salads and chocolates.
Update: 03.05.2018
Category: Wine and Vermouth